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Eleanor Rosalynn Carter (b.1927,) née Smith, is a former first lady 1977–81, the wife of Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the United States, and mental-health activist. She was one of the most politically insightful and active of all American first ladies.

Born in Plains, Georgia, Rosalynn married Carter in 1946. When her husband was governor of Georgia 1971–74, she began to commit herself to developing a national strategy for helping the mentally ill, a work that she continued as first lady. Since then she has assisted on many committees dedicated to helping the mentally ill and promoting children’s health and global peace.

You must accept that you might fail; then, if you do your best and still don’t win, at least you can be satisfied that you’ve tried. If you don’t accept failure as a possibility, you don’t set high goals, and you don’t branch out, you don’t try–you don’t take the risk.—Rosalynn CarterTopics: Acceptance, Failure, Risk-taking